Saturn is now in the southwestern sky at dusk. It outshines the stars around it, so it’s also easy to see. By Halloween night, however, Saturn sets in twilight; it drops into the Sun’s glare next month.

Venus, Mars, and Jupiter will come close together in the sky late this month. Right now, the three planets are almost in a vertical line, with Venus, Jupiter on the bottom, and Mars in between. Venus is brighter than Jupiter and both outshine all stars we ever see at night, so they’re easy to find even in twilight. Mars is much, much dimmer than those two. It is now just below (and slightly dimmer than) the star Regulus in Leo. During this month, watch as Mars gains on Jupiter and Venus gains on them both. Mars overtakes Jupiter Oct. 17, when they are just 0.38 degrees apart. By way of comparison, your pinky held at arm’s length blocks about one degree. Venus then passes one degree from Jupiter Oct. 26. That morning, the three planets form the most compact alignment, fitting within a circle 3.35 degrees across. Venus goes on to overtake Mars the morning of Nov. 3. They are 0.68 degrees apart that morning.

The Big Dipper is left of the North Star, with its handle pointing up. From that handle, you can ‘arc to Arcturus’ in the west at dusk.

Autumn represents sort of an ‘intermission’ in the sky, with bright summer stars setting at dusk, while bright winter patterns such as Orion have not yet risen. The ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius sets in the southwest early in the evening. The Summer Triangle is high in the west. Meanwhile, the Great Square of Pegasus is in the east, indicating that autumn has begun. The stars rising in the east are much dimmer than those overhead and in the southwest because when you face east at dusk in October, you face out of the Milky Way plane. The center of our galaxy lies between Scorpius and Sagittarius, while the Summer Triangle is also in the galactic plane. Pegasus, on the other hand, is outside the plane of our galaxy and is a good place to look for other galaxies. Nearby constellations Andromeda and Triangulum (a small triangle) contain the spiral galaxies nearest to our own.

Moon Phases in October 2015:

Last Quarter: Oct. 4, 4:06 p.m.

New: Oct. 12, 7:06 p.m.

1st Quarter: Oct. 20, 3:31 p.m.

Full: Oct. 27, 7:05 p.m.

Our annual Astronomy Day at the George Observatory is Saturday, Oct. 24! On Astronomy Day, we have activities from 3 to 10 p.m., and all of the telescopes, even the ones that normally cost $5 to look through, are free. It’s the biggest astronomy event in southeast Texas! Click here for more information.

Halloween is on Saturday this year, which means that the next day, Nov. 1, is the first Sunday of November. Therefore, Daylight Saving Time ends and we ‘fall back’ to standard time at 2 a.m. that morning. (The time goes from 1:59 a.m. back to 1 a.m., giving us the 1 a.m. hour twice.) So get your #ChillsAtHMNS, don’t forget to set your clocks back, and enjoy your extra hour of sleep Halloween night!

On most clear Saturday nights at the George Observatory, you can hear me do live star tours on the observation deck with a green laser pointer. If you’re there, listen for my announcement.

From 8 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 31, we’ll open all four floors to the public (21 and up) with 30 cash bars spread throughout the museum, five food trucks outside for a quick bite and two DJs to get your bones moving. With numbers like that, you can count on a good time, but if you’re a visual learner, check out these shots from previous years.

You can’t bust a move in costume underneath a Triceratops or a T. rex unless you’re at HMNS. Don’t miss the chance to party in the Morian Hall of Paleontology for Halloween.

Outside the front doors, take a break from the dance floor and grab a bite to eat. With five of Houston’s best food trucks, you’ll find something to munch on.

While you’re chowing down, you can meet a character or two and show off your fancy costume. Come dressed for success, though. For our party, folks can really bring it. You can go sweet and cute…

…or scary and traditional.

You can go as a supervillain…

…or go completely nasty.

Maybe get silly like this half-man, half-dog from Spaceballs…

…or put your hard-earned dollars to good use.

Go aboriginal…

…or take an original spin on the native look. Taking a friend or five can open up even more ideas.

Pay homage to your favorite cast of characters…

…be members of the crew…

…or put your heads together, and who knows what you’ll come up with?

Maybe you just broke out…

…or just broke out some teeth. However you choose to dress, just remember, this is HMNS, where you never know what you’ll see around the next corner.

Don’t miss Spirits and Skeletons this year! It’s the most fun you can have in costume. Tickets $50, members $25.

Additional note: Throughout the month of October, keep an eye on our HMNS social media platforms under #ChillsatHMNS for Halloween tricks and treats to warm up for the big party. Because at the museum, we do spooky up big. Look us up on Facebook for holiday highlights, drop in on Instagram for 31 Days of Skeletons and follow our story on Snapchat for Halloween humor. Scan our Twitter feed for updates on all things museum and streaming video feed through Periscope.

It’s officially fall, and I’d like to say the weather is cooling down and the leaves are turning bright and beautiful colors, but we live in Houston. So… no.

Instead, I can tell you that we’ve been hard at work this summer developing fun, fast and hands-on activities for this year’s ExxonMobil Teacher Tuesdays. For adults only, Teacher Tuesdays offer fun and interactive professional development opportunities for ideas to kick your lessons up a notch. We’re pretty excited about the line-up this fall, and we’re dying to give you a sneak peak of what to expect.

Our first ExxonMobil Teacher Tuesday has us focusing on one of our favorite topics: Day of the Dead! With all-new crafts, this workshop is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Check out the photo above for a hint at the items we’ll be making in class. For those of you who have been to a Day of the Dead workshop before, you’ll be pleased to know that the sparkle box is back!

In October, you can join us for an in depth look at the rock cycle with James Washington, Lead Concierge here at HMNS. James, who leads tours for the museum, has his very own collection of specimens he’s willing to share with the world. Anyone who has participated in what I refer to as “The James Washington Experience” leaves with a much better understanding of how all sciences are connected.

You also have the opportunity to visit the new Hamman Hall of Coastal Ecology on Oct. 27 to discover the critters in and around the ocean. You’ll even get the chance to get up close and personal with a horseshoe crab. (Fun fact: horseshoe crabs keep you healthy in ways you probably don’t even know about but will learn in this mind-blowing workshop.)

For November, pop down to the rainforest as you learn about the Amazon in the Out of the Amazon workshop. As part of the workshop, you will be treated to a rainforest wildlife presentation as well as a tour of the new exhibit Out of the Amazon. Dover and Frankie, our resident green-cheeked conures, might even make an appearance and will within minutes have entire room full of adults trained to do tricks.Join us in December for a viewing of Robots 3D in the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre. HMNS’s own Kathleen Havens wrote the curriculum for this National Geographic feature, so you know it’ll be hands-on, fun and engaging for students while covering STEM objectives and careers. If you’d like to discover some reasonable engineering challenges you can do at school for your elementary and middle school students that don’t require a $3000 grant, this workshop is for you!

And that just takes us through December! The spring semester is just as exciting, covering everything from blood splatter to brain-based learning. Check out our complete schedule, and we’ll see you at HMNS!

Houston’s favorite Halloween party — the one and only Spirits & Skeletons — is back at HMNS! With the entire museum open you can shake your stuff with a stegosaurus, grab a drink with a skink and get spellbound by bewitching gems, all to live music and your favorite hits played by DJs with fantastic food trucks parked right outside.

Benefits: Elsa is so overrated (seriously guys, let it go…)Warning: Be prepared for some warm hugs.

How to be Olaf:

Step 1: Wear a white long-sleeved shirt and white pants Step 2: Olaf is all about the accessories -glue on some black felt circles for the buttons, strap on a carrot nose, and black out your teeth with some gum wrappers for Olaf’s signature buck-tooth smile. For a more hassle-free version, make your own Olaf hat – see above. Step 3: Get Elsa to conjure up your own personal snow flurry.

3. GUESS WHO: Is it me? Is it you? Who knows!? GUESS WHO!

Q: Do they wear an awesome costume? A: Yes. Yes, they do.

How to be a “Guess Who” character:

Step 1: Make your frame with some cardboard, paint it, and write “Guess Who?” on the frame Step 2: Find a colored shirt and paint a question mark on it Step 3: Accessorize! Mustaches, large classes, funky eyebrows, get creative! Step 4: Be prepared for many questions

4. STARLORD (PETER QUILL): Because “Starlord” is the coolest title ever

Seriously, who wouldn’t want to be called Starlord for the night? For that extra touch: Add the cassette player

How to be Starlord:

Step 1: Put on your get pumped music – Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 Step 2: Wear dark pants, a blue shirt, and your signature red leather jacket Step 3: Clip on your cassette player and put on some headphones so you can groove to your awesome mix on the go. Step 4: Remind everyone you meet that you go by Starlord, not Peter Quill.

He’s probably making excuses to Yondu…

5. THE GOBLIN KING FROM LABYRINTH: Because, Bowie.

I can never decide if I hate this movie or if I love it. Either way this costume is awesome and this girl is my idol.

How to be The Goblin King:

Step 1: Find a fantastic Bowie wig, or style your own hair if you have skills. Step 2: Wear the tightest pants you can find, a white pirate/musketeer-esque shirt, black vest, and some sassy boots Step 3: Layer on some serious eyeliner/eyeshadow Step 4: Do some sleight of hand tricks with your crystal ball, and you’re done!

People will be looking at your costume like…

6. CHER FROM CLUELESS: Um, like, who else would you want to be?!

Iggy reminded us that we have neglected Clueless for far too long, but no more!Um…It’s a pink pen DUH. Like Cher would have a black/blue pen…

Step 1: Wear whatever, it’s the next step that matters. Step 2: Cut out an egg shaped piece of cardboard and paste on squares/circles for the screen and buttons Step 3: Cut out some string and secure it to your Tamagotchi board, creating your Tamagotchi necklace Step 4: Beep every five seconds

Step 1: Wear jeans and a red hoodie (probably the most comfy costume of the bunch) Step 2: Secure a basket with a rope/strap around your neck Step 3: Find an ET doll/mask (a pug doll would do too) and wrap the head with white cloth Step 4: Bike your way through the sky!…or drive to the party, either way is fine.

Now this is the science museum, so I had to include some costumes to bring out your inner geek. I’ll leave the designing to you.

SCIENCE PUN COSTUMES: Because anyone who tells you all the good science puns Argon, is lying.